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dc.contributor.authorLaeng, Bruno
dc.contributor.authorVermeer, Oddrun
dc.contributor.authorSulutvedt, Unni
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-25T09:01:25Z
dc.date.available2014-03-25T09:01:25Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractOpposing forces influence assortative mating so that one seeks a similar mate while at the same time avoiding inbreeding with close relatives. Thus, mate choice may be a balancing of phenotypic similarity and dissimilarity between partners. In the present study, we assessed the role of resemblance to Self’s facial traits in judgments of physical attractiveness. Participants chose the most attractive face image of their romantic partner among several variants, where the faces were morphed so as to include only 22% of another face. Participants distinctly preferred a ‘‘Self-based morph’’ (i.e., their partner’s face with a small amount of Self’s face blended into it) to other morphed images. The Self-based morph was also preferred to the morph of their partner’s face blended with the partner’s same-sex ‘‘prototype’’, although the latter face was (‘‘objectively’’) judged more attractive by other individuals. When ranking morphs differing in level of amalgamation (i.e., 11% vs. 22% vs. 33%) of another face, the 22% was chosen consistently as the preferred morph and, in particular, when Self was blended in the partner’s face. A forced-choice signal-detection paradigm showed that the effect of self-resemblance operated at an unconscious level, since the same participants were unable to detect the presence of their own faces in the above morphs. We concluded that individuals, if given the opportunity, seek to promote ‘‘positive assortment’’ for Self’s phenotype, especially when the level of similarity approaches an optimal point that is similar to Self without causing a conscious acknowledgment of the similarity.en
dc.identifier.citationPLoS ONE (2013), vol. 8(7): e68395.en
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 1039465
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0068395.g001
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/6094
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:no-uit_munin_5782
dc.language.isoengen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science (PLoS)en
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccess
dc.subjectVDP::Social science: 200::Psychology: 260::Biological psychology: 261en
dc.subjectVDP::Samfunnsvitenskap: 200::Psykologi: 260::Biologisk psykologi: 261en
dc.subjectVDP::Social science: 200::Psychology: 260::Cognitive psychology: 267en
dc.subjectVDP::Samfunnsvitenskap: 200::Psykologi: 260::Kognitiv psykologi: 267en
dc.titleIs Beauty in the Face of the Beholder?en
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen
dc.typePeer revieweden


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